Today, We Are All Kings for a Day: Dense, Elegant, Stunning Hermitage Rouge for Under $50

The Hill of Hermitage Towers Over the Rhone Like Mount Olympus
 - These Are Revered Wines That Normally Cost Hundreds or (Even Thousands) of Dollars
 - Luyton is a Fass Discovery and Even the French Are Behind the Curve
 - A Relatively New Producer That Leapt up the Quality Hierarchy with Her Stunning 2015s (and Has Stayed There in 2016)

2016 Michele Luyton Hermitage
 - Epic Nose: Blackberry Fruit, Red Raspberry, Grilled Meats, Blood, Mashed Dark Flowers
 - Stunningly Gorgesous, Dense, Tiny Berry Fruit
 - Luyton's Elegant, Complex Style Has Continued Even with These More Dense Wines
 - This Is a Remarkable Wine at Any Price and for Under $50, It's an Insane Buy (Special 8 Pack Pricing)
 - Only 500 Bottles Made

Before I get into this offer two things I want to talk about briefly. I hope it will be brief (and likely you do as well).

The 2016 Vintage
2016 is one of the more overlooked vintages in the N. Rhone I've encountered in my career. I've been drinking so many and they are just stunningly delicious. Much better than the 2014's they have been unfairly compared to. They are utterly classic wines of incredible refinement and really ample fruit, that is pure as it is succulent. It's like 2001 Red Burgundy, 1993 White Burgundy, 2001 Northern Rhone, 1991 Red Burgundy, 2001 Bordeaux or 2008 Bordeaux. Vintages vastly underrated at the time that evolved into something much better that everyone wants. That is 2016 N. Rhone. I'm in love with the vintage.

The Evolution of Michele Luyton
Next is the evolution of Michele Luyton as a winemaker. We started in 2011 with Michele Luyton

and her wines were very good.  But we forget that she was very young as a winemaker when we started with her as she had formerly sold her grapes.  So while the wines were very good (and amazing values) they represented her early works.  They were elegant pure, medium bodied and wonderfully different expressions of Hermitage. But in 2015, she brought it to another level and made her first super cuvee, the Allegresse, plus a bonkers bottle of "normal" Hermitage. She is a master blender of her parcels and has only gotten better since we started. She loves being outside and is working harder and longer in the vineyard than ever before. The wines have a density/deepness and purity they did not have before and her best days are ahead of her. Here is a great 6 Questions segment we did with Michele on the blog recently.

Today, I have the 2016 Michele Luyton Hermitage for $52.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack and $49.99 on 8 bottles or more. Boy, has Michelle Luyton improved since her 2011 vintage. Her 2015 was vastly underpriced given the quality we are talking about here. The 2016 is the same. It's insane that Red Hermitage can be this good at under $50. Just a stunning stunning bottle of Hermitage.

The nose is mineral and so deep and refined. Just stunning aromas of blackberry fruit, red raspberry, grilled meats, blood, mashed dark flowers and almost feral vibe but in the best way possible. Spice and flowers and and much olive and lavender develop after some air.

The palate is deep and so sleek. There is big power and huge concentration but also a sense of grace and refinement that is utterly gorgeous. There is so much material but it's all on a silky string versus a thick gym rope. I've never had a Luyton wine this structured and refined while also at the same time so unbelievably fresh.  The palate impact is intense and so, so pretty. The tiny berry fruit explosion is so wonderful. It explodes and dissipates so wonderfully. Michelle has upped her game so much. The combo of intensity and grace is something. There is real power as well as some of her earlier wines were beautifully elegant but also lacking a touch of density. No longer.  Amazing how she kept her complex and elegant style and still retains deep structure and intensity. The intensity in her wines is something. It transcends whatever price I charge which is not much. There are incredible inner mouth aromas and the longer it is open, the longer the finish is. This was in barrel when I tasted it and I thought I could  drink it that night it had that mother's milk quality to it as the purity of the young puppy like Syrah was so enthralling. I think this is a 12-18 year wine at least. For $50 this is a brilliant value.

2016 Michelle Luyton Hermitage Rouge - $54.99  ($211.96 4-pack, $399.92 8-pack {$49.99 bottle!}) (VERY LIMITED)